Say Aah
Encyclopedia
"Say Aah" is a song by American recording artist Trey Songz
featuring American rapper Fabolous
. The track was written by the two along with Nate Walka, Ronald M. Ferebee, Jr., Tony Scales, and Don Correll, with the latter producing it with Troy Taylor
. The song was available to rhythmic
and urban
airplay as the fourth official single from Songz's third studio album Ready
on January 12, 2010. The song has lyrical content referring to a night of drinking during a birthday celebration.
The song received mostly positive reviews, and became Songz biggest hit, reaching number nine on the US Billboard Hot 100
, his first top ten hit. Additionally it reached number three on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs
chart, and peaked at sixteen on the Pop Songs chart. The song was later certified Platinum in the United States by the RIAA. "Say Aah" became Songz's first song to chart internationally, reaching number forty-three in Canada. The music video features Songz and Fabolous at a club, and serves as a predecessor to the "I Invented Sex
" clip. The song was nominated for "Viewers' Choice" and "Best Collaboration" at the 2010 BET Awards
.
's D2 Music Studios in 2009, "Say Aah" was written by Trey Songz
, Fabolous
, Nate Walka, Ronald M. Ferebee, Jr., Don Corell and Tony "Chef Tone" Scales
. Young Yonny produced the song with Troy Taylor
. Taylor himself recorded the song while Jean Marie Horvat mixed
the track. According to Songz in an interview with GoWhereHipHop, Fabolous decided to record a verse for track the day Ready was set to be mastered, which was during the week of the release of his fifth studio album Loso's Way
. In an August 2009 interview, when asked about Fabolous's appearance on the track Songz insinuated that "Say Aah" would be released as one of the last singles from Ready, calling it "one of the hottest club records to be out next year." The first remix of the song to be released also features American rapper Young Jeezy
, while another features fellow American rappers Juelz Santana
and Ace Hood
. R&B singer Teairra Mari released her remix of the song in January 2010.
The title refers to the imperative phrase Say Aah, often said by medical doctors when they want to inspect the mouth cavity of a patient.
stated that, "Its over-abundance of hooks ('we don't buyyyy no drinks at the bar' being a personal favorite) makes it pretty hard to dislike. And the verse from Brooklyn's Fabolous will bring in even the most hardened of fun-haters." Vibe called the song "the official birthday song of the year", claiming that it was better than Jeremih
's "Birthday Sex
". The song was nominated for "Viewers' Choice" and "Best Collaboration" at the 2010 BET Awards
.
at sixty-eight. Its position on the charts fluctuated for several weeks before it peaked at number nine on the week of March 13, 2010, the highest chart placing Songz had achieved in his career. The song track spent a total of twenty-three weeks on the chart. Additionally the song peaked at three on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs
chart, Songz's third top ten R&B single from Ready. As Songz's first song to impact pop
radio, it reached sixteen on the Pop Songs chart. On February 22, 2010, the single became Songz's first song to be recognized by the Recording Industry Association of America
, with ceritifed sales of 500,000 units. Later, on April 16, 2010, it was upgraded to Platinum status, denoting sales of over 1 million units. The track became Songz's first international chart hit, appearing at number forty-three on the Canadian Hot 100
.
." The video was filmed on October 7, 2009. Wynter Gordon
and DJ Clue
make appearances in the video. Stills from the clip were released on the following day, October 8, 2009. A combination video was released for the dual clips of "Say Aah" and "I Invented Sex" and the videos were also released separately. Songz confirmed to MTV News
in November 2009 that the latter would be a continuation of the previous. On the video, Songz said that he wanted the video to be "sexy" and "adult" in which everyone had fun. He further explained,
said, "the video keeps it pretty grown in sexy", commenting the choice of button down shirts as attire and commending Fabolous's part, which he said, "has a very plain-spoken feel to it, and because his blue-framed shades are matching his shirt."
's New Year's Eve celebration on December 31, 2009. The song was then performed again with "I Invented Sex
" on It's On with Alexa Chung
. On January 15, 2010, he performed the song on The Wendy Williams Show
. He also performed the song on Lopez Tonight
as well as The Blueprint 3 Tour, and performed it with Fabolous at West Hollywood's House of Blues
. He performed the song once again on 106 & Park
on February 11, 2010 for "Love Week" as a medley with "Neighbors Know My Name
" and "I Invented Sex
". "Say Aah" was performed by Songz at MTV
's Spring Break 2010 in Acapulco, Mexico.
Source
Trey Songz
Tremaine "Trey" Aldon Neverson , better known by his stage name Trey Songz, is an American singer-songwriter, rapper, record producer and actor. His debut album, I Gotta Make It, was released in 2005, while his second album, Trey Day, was released in 2007...
featuring American rapper Fabolous
Fabolous
John David Jackson , better known by his stage name Fabolous, is an American rapper of African American and Dominican descent. He grew up in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York. Part of his early popularity arose from his hit single "Can't Deny It" in 2001, from his debut...
. The track was written by the two along with Nate Walka, Ronald M. Ferebee, Jr., Tony Scales, and Don Correll, with the latter producing it with Troy Taylor
Troy Taylor (producer)
Troy Taylor was born and raised in New Haven, Connecticut, into a family of musicians. He got his start by singing in talent shows at an early age then moved on to playing keyboards. Before reaching the age of 21, Taylor was signed as an artist to Motown Records and later helped produce several...
. The song was available to rhythmic
Rhythmic Contemporary
Rhythmic contemporary, also known as rhythmic top 40, rhythmic contemporary hit radio or rhythmic crossover, is a music radio format that includes a mix of EDM, upbeat rhythmic pop, hip-hop and R&B hits. Rhythmic contemporary rarely uses rock music or country music in its airplay, but it may...
and urban
Urban contemporary
Urban contemporary is a music radio format. The term was coined by the late New York DJ Frankie Crocker in the mid 1970s. Urban contemporary radio stations feature a playlist made up entirely of hip hop/rap, contemporary R&B, pop, electronica such as dubstep and drum and bass and Caribbean music...
airplay as the fourth official single from Songz's third studio album Ready
Ready (Trey Songz album)
Ready is the third studio album by American R&B singer Trey Songz. The album, his first studio release since 2007's Trey Day, was released by Songbook and Atlantic Records on August 31, 2009, in the United States...
on January 12, 2010. The song has lyrical content referring to a night of drinking during a birthday celebration.
The song received mostly positive reviews, and became Songz biggest hit, reaching number nine on the US Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
, his first top ten hit. Additionally it reached number three on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, is a chart released weekly by Billboard in the United States.The chart, initiated in 1942, is used to track the success of popular music songs in urban, or primarily African American, venues. Dominated over the years at various times by jazz, rhythm and blues, doo-wop, soul,...
chart, and peaked at sixteen on the Pop Songs chart. The song was later certified Platinum in the United States by the RIAA. "Say Aah" became Songz's first song to chart internationally, reaching number forty-three in Canada. The music video features Songz and Fabolous at a club, and serves as a predecessor to the "I Invented Sex
I Invented Sex
"I Invented Sex" is a song by American R&B singer Trey Songz, and features Canadian recording artist Drake. Together, they wrote the song alongside Tony Scales and its producer, Los Da Mystro. It was released to urban airplay as the third single from Songz's third studio album Ready on October 13,...
" clip. The song was nominated for "Viewers' Choice" and "Best Collaboration" at the 2010 BET Awards
BET Awards
The BET Awards were established in 2001 by the Black Entertainment Television network to celebrate African Americans and other minorities in music, acting, sports, and other fields of entertainment over the past year. The awards are presented annually and broadcast live on BET...
.
Background
Recorded at AtlantaAtlanta, Georgia
Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...
's D2 Music Studios in 2009, "Say Aah" was written by Trey Songz
Trey Songz
Tremaine "Trey" Aldon Neverson , better known by his stage name Trey Songz, is an American singer-songwriter, rapper, record producer and actor. His debut album, I Gotta Make It, was released in 2005, while his second album, Trey Day, was released in 2007...
, Fabolous
Fabolous
John David Jackson , better known by his stage name Fabolous, is an American rapper of African American and Dominican descent. He grew up in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York. Part of his early popularity arose from his hit single "Can't Deny It" in 2001, from his debut...
, Nate Walka, Ronald M. Ferebee, Jr., Don Corell and Tony "Chef Tone" Scales
Tony "Chef Tone" Scales
Tony Scales is an American Songwriterbetter known by his pen name Chef Tone. He was born in Chicago, Illinois where he was discovered by Grammy Award winning R&B Star R.Kelly in December 2006. Chef Tone contributed to R. Kelly's and worked on his 2007 release "Double Up"...
. Young Yonny produced the song with Troy Taylor
Troy Taylor (producer)
Troy Taylor was born and raised in New Haven, Connecticut, into a family of musicians. He got his start by singing in talent shows at an early age then moved on to playing keyboards. Before reaching the age of 21, Taylor was signed as an artist to Motown Records and later helped produce several...
. Taylor himself recorded the song while Jean Marie Horvat mixed
Audio mixing (recorded music)
In audio recording, audio mixing is the process by which multiple recorded sounds are combined into one or more channels, most commonly two-channel stereo. In the process, the source signals' level, frequency content, dynamics, and panoramic position are manipulated and effects such as reverb may...
the track. According to Songz in an interview with GoWhereHipHop, Fabolous decided to record a verse for track the day Ready was set to be mastered, which was during the week of the release of his fifth studio album Loso's Way
Loso's Way
Loso's Way is the fifth studio album by American recording artist Fabolous, released on July 28, 2009.-Background:Fabolous planned on not having many guests on the album. The album was originally called Work Hard, Play Harder...
. In an August 2009 interview, when asked about Fabolous's appearance on the track Songz insinuated that "Say Aah" would be released as one of the last singles from Ready, calling it "one of the hottest club records to be out next year." The first remix of the song to be released also features American rapper Young Jeezy
Young Jeezy
Jay Wayne Jenkins , better known by his stage name Young Jeezy, is an American rapper. He is the member of the hip hop group United Streets Dopeboyz of America and a former member of BMF...
, while another features fellow American rappers Juelz Santana
Juelz Santana
LaRon Louis James , better known by his stage name Juelz Santana, is an American rapper, producer, and actor. He appeared on Cam'ron's 2002 singles, "Oh Boy" and "Hey Ma"...
and Ace Hood
Ace Hood
Antoine McColister, better known by his stage name Ace Hood, is an American rapper. He is signed to DJ Khaled's label We the Best Music Group and Def Jam Recordings...
. R&B singer Teairra Mari released her remix of the song in January 2010.
The title refers to the imperative phrase Say Aah, often said by medical doctors when they want to inspect the mouth cavity of a patient.
Composition and critical reception
The song has been referred to as an "indecent behavior anthem" due to its lyrical content. Ken Capobianco of the Boston Globe said that "Say Aah" was one of the "popping tracks" which parent album Ready was built around. Commenting on the song's lyrics, Chris Ryan of MTV BuzzworthyMTV News
MTV News is the news division of MTV, one of the first and most popular music television network in the U.S., as well as some of MTV's related channels around the world. MTV News began in the late 1980s with the program The Week In Rock, hosted by Kurt Loder, the first official MTV News correspondent...
stated that, "Its over-abundance of hooks ('we don't buyyyy no drinks at the bar' being a personal favorite) makes it pretty hard to dislike. And the verse from Brooklyn's Fabolous will bring in even the most hardened of fun-haters." Vibe called the song "the official birthday song of the year", claiming that it was better than Jeremih
Jeremih
Jeremiah Felton who performs under the mononym Jeremih , is an American recording artist and producer signed to Def Jam Recordings. Jeremih's debut single, "Birthday Sex" , peaked at number four on the Billboard Hot 100...
's "Birthday Sex
Birthday Sex
"Birthday Sex" is the debut single by American recording artist Jeremih. It is the lead single from his debut album, Jeremih. The song was written by Jeremih and Keith James and produced by Mick Schultz. "Birthday Sex" peaked at number four on the Billboard Hot 100 and topped the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop...
". The song was nominated for "Viewers' Choice" and "Best Collaboration" at the 2010 BET Awards
BET Awards
The BET Awards were established in 2001 by the Black Entertainment Television network to celebrate African Americans and other minorities in music, acting, sports, and other fields of entertainment over the past year. The awards are presented annually and broadcast live on BET...
.
Chart performance
On the week ending November 28, 2009, the song entered the Billboard Hot 100Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
at sixty-eight. Its position on the charts fluctuated for several weeks before it peaked at number nine on the week of March 13, 2010, the highest chart placing Songz had achieved in his career. The song track spent a total of twenty-three weeks on the chart. Additionally the song peaked at three on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, is a chart released weekly by Billboard in the United States.The chart, initiated in 1942, is used to track the success of popular music songs in urban, or primarily African American, venues. Dominated over the years at various times by jazz, rhythm and blues, doo-wop, soul,...
chart, Songz's third top ten R&B single from Ready. As Songz's first song to impact pop
Contemporary hit radio
Contemporary hit radio is a radio format that is common in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada and Australia that focuses on playing current and recurrent popular music as determined by the Top 40 music charts...
radio, it reached sixteen on the Pop Songs chart. On February 22, 2010, the single became Songz's first song to be recognized by the Recording Industry Association of America
Recording Industry Association of America
The Recording Industry Association of America is a trade organization that represents the recording industry distributors in the United States...
, with ceritifed sales of 500,000 units. Later, on April 16, 2010, it was upgraded to Platinum status, denoting sales of over 1 million units. The track became Songz's first international chart hit, appearing at number forty-three on the Canadian Hot 100
Canadian Hot 100
The Canadian Hot 100 is a music singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine which ranks songs in Canada. The chart debuted in the Billboard issue dated June 16, 2007 and was made available for the first time via their online services on June 7, 2007...
.
Music video
The music video was directed by Yolande Geralds, who also directed the clip for Songz's previous single. "I Invented SexI Invented Sex
"I Invented Sex" is a song by American R&B singer Trey Songz, and features Canadian recording artist Drake. Together, they wrote the song alongside Tony Scales and its producer, Los Da Mystro. It was released to urban airplay as the third single from Songz's third studio album Ready on October 13,...
." The video was filmed on October 7, 2009. Wynter Gordon
Wynter Gordon
Diana "Wynter" Gordon is an American pop/dance singer-songwriter. She began as a writer for other artists, later signing with Atlantic Records where she began working on an album while continuing to write songs for other acts and providing vocals on songs...
and DJ Clue
DJ Clue
Ernesto Shaw better known as DJ Clue?, is a mixtape DJ.-Biography:For more than 10 years, DJ Clue has proven that he is more than just a beat-thumper. His accomplishments show how a turntable genius precisely puts together different songs to make a concoction of beats and melodies that rule the...
make appearances in the video. Stills from the clip were released on the following day, October 8, 2009. A combination video was released for the dual clips of "Say Aah" and "I Invented Sex" and the videos were also released separately. Songz confirmed to MTV News
MTV News
MTV News is the news division of MTV, one of the first and most popular music television network in the U.S., as well as some of MTV's related channels around the world. MTV News began in the late 1980s with the program The Week In Rock, hosted by Kurt Loder, the first official MTV News correspondent...
in November 2009 that the latter would be a continuation of the previous. On the video, Songz said that he wanted the video to be "sexy" and "adult" in which everyone had fun. He further explained,
"The song speaks on more so a club atmosphere, but the video is more lofty — sexy women all over the place, adults having fun. This one lady in particular, she's representing the independent women without taking it over the top. She's got her own. She takes me back to her crib — so we invent sex together."In a review of the video, calling the song itself "ballerific", Chris Ryan of MTV Buzzworthy
MTV News
MTV News is the news division of MTV, one of the first and most popular music television network in the U.S., as well as some of MTV's related channels around the world. MTV News began in the late 1980s with the program The Week In Rock, hosted by Kurt Loder, the first official MTV News correspondent...
said, "the video keeps it pretty grown in sexy", commenting the choice of button down shirts as attire and commending Fabolous's part, which he said, "has a very plain-spoken feel to it, and because his blue-framed shades are matching his shirt."
Live performances
Songz performed the song on 106 & Park106 & Park
106 & Park is a Top Ten Hip-Hop and R&B music video show, set up in a countdown format, that airs weekdays at 6:00 PM on BET . Since its inception, it was the network's #1 rated show...
's New Year's Eve celebration on December 31, 2009. The song was then performed again with "I Invented Sex
I Invented Sex
"I Invented Sex" is a song by American R&B singer Trey Songz, and features Canadian recording artist Drake. Together, they wrote the song alongside Tony Scales and its producer, Los Da Mystro. It was released to urban airplay as the third single from Songz's third studio album Ready on October 13,...
" on It's On with Alexa Chung
It's On with Alexa Chung
It's On with Alexa Chung was an American live interactive talk and variety program that aired weekdays on MTV from June 15 to December 17, 2009...
. On January 15, 2010, he performed the song on The Wendy Williams Show
The Wendy Williams Show
The Wendy Williams Show is a syndicated talk show hosted by Wendy Williams that premiered on July 14, 2008, as six-week sneak peek, in Detroit, Dallas, Los Angeles, and New York City. The test run was picked up for a full season that began its run on July 13, 2009 in over 70% of the country in...
. He also performed the song on Lopez Tonight
Lopez Tonight
Lopez Tonight was an American late-night television talk show hosted by comedian George Lopez. The hour-long program premiered on November 9, 2009, on cable network TBS. Lopez was the first Mexican American to host a late-night talk show on an English-language network in the United States. The...
as well as The Blueprint 3 Tour, and performed it with Fabolous at West Hollywood's House of Blues
House of Blues
House of Blues is a chain of 13 live music concert halls and restaurants in major markets throughout the United States. House of Blues first location was in Cambridge's Harvard Square. It was opened in 1992 by Isaac Tigrett, co-founder of Hard Rock Cafe, and Dan Aykroyd, star of The Blues Brothers...
. He performed the song once again on 106 & Park
106 & Park
106 & Park is a Top Ten Hip-Hop and R&B music video show, set up in a countdown format, that airs weekdays at 6:00 PM on BET . Since its inception, it was the network's #1 rated show...
on February 11, 2010 for "Love Week" as a medley with "Neighbors Know My Name
Neighbors Know My Name
"Neighbors Know My Name" is a song by American R&B singer Trey Songz. It was written by Songz with Patrick Hayes and Troy Taylor, who produced the song with John Mcgee. It was released to rhythmic and urban airplay as the fifth and final single from his third studio album, Ready on February 16, 2010...
" and "I Invented Sex
I Invented Sex
"I Invented Sex" is a song by American R&B singer Trey Songz, and features Canadian recording artist Drake. Together, they wrote the song alongside Tony Scales and its producer, Los Da Mystro. It was released to urban airplay as the third single from Songz's third studio album Ready on October 13,...
". "Say Aah" was performed by Songz at MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
's Spring Break 2010 in Acapulco, Mexico.
Credits and personnel
- Songwriting – Trey Songz, Fabolous, Nate Walka, Ronald M. Ferebee, Jr., Don Corell, Tony "Chef Tone" ScalesTony "Chef Tone" ScalesTony Scales is an American Songwriterbetter known by his pen name Chef Tone. He was born in Chicago, Illinois where he was discovered by Grammy Award winning R&B Star R.Kelly in December 2006. Chef Tone contributed to R. Kelly's and worked on his 2007 release "Double Up"...
- ProductionRecord producerA record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
– Troy Taylor, Young Yonny - RecordingSound recording and reproductionSound recording and reproduction is an electrical or mechanical inscription and re-creation of sound waves, such as spoken voice, singing, instrumental music, or sound effects. The two main classes of sound recording technology are analog recording and digital recording...
– Troy Taylor - MixingAudio mixing (recorded music)In audio recording, audio mixing is the process by which multiple recorded sounds are combined into one or more channels, most commonly two-channel stereo. In the process, the source signals' level, frequency content, dynamics, and panoramic position are manipulated and effects such as reverb may...
– Jean Marie Horvat
Source
Charts
| Chart (2010) | Peak position |
|---|
Year-end charts
| Chart (2010) | Position |
|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday... |
31 |
Certifications
| Region | Provider | Certification |
|---|---|---|
| United States | RIAA | Platinum |
Radio adds
| Region | Date | Format |
|---|---|---|
| United States | January 12, 2010 | Rhythmic Rhythmic Contemporary Rhythmic contemporary, also known as rhythmic top 40, rhythmic contemporary hit radio or rhythmic crossover, is a music radio format that includes a mix of EDM, upbeat rhythmic pop, hip-hop and R&B hits. Rhythmic contemporary rarely uses rock music or country music in its airplay, but it may... and urban Urban contemporary Urban contemporary is a music radio format. The term was coined by the late New York DJ Frankie Crocker in the mid 1970s. Urban contemporary radio stations feature a playlist made up entirely of hip hop/rap, contemporary R&B, pop, electronica such as dubstep and drum and bass and Caribbean music... airplay |